Thoughts and Tirades, Rants and Ruminations

February 27, 2008: Just the highlights

A late blog entry today, so I’ll make it quick by offering up a bullet point summary of my day:

– Read, re-read, and re-re-read the 56 pages I’ve got on Whispers so far, hoping it would put me in the proper frame of mind that would allow me to write the final scene.

– It didn’t.

– Went down to Stage 5 where Robert was being interviewed by Space on the upcoming Ark of Truth release, patiently waiting for twenty minutes in the wings until the interview ended so I could yell “Booooring!”

– Was relayed a query from certain individuals who requested their scripts only be printed on white pages because the multi-colored production drafts hurt their eyes to read. Seriously. Would they like our office assistant to chew their food for them too?

– Said goodbye to Amanda and told her it was a pleasure working with her these past eight years. “Don’t’ be a stranger,”I told her in a particularly emotional moment. “Come back and say hi.” Then was quick add: “But call first so we can clear your name with the guard at the front gate.”

– Said hello Paul McGillion back who dropped by the production offices on his way to his wardrobe fitting for The Seed. I pitched him Whispers. He was predictably delighted at the prospect of being stranded off-world with an all-female team.

– Gave Alan notes on his beat sheet. Told him I thought it was going to be a fantastic episode. No pressure.

– Gave Carl notes on his revised beat sheet for Tracker. My one big cover note: Change the guy’s name. Clearly frustrated, Carl informed me he was open to suggestions. I consulted the list of ingredients listed on the packaged mixed nuts sitting on the coffee table, immediately coming up with the inspired “Peanutia“.

If you are having trouble writing that last scene you should pretend to be someone else (i.e. Cookie Monster, Baron Destructo, Gero whoever) and write it as you think they would. Then look at it and rip it to shreads, by then you will have a good idea of what you would like to have written all along.

A lovely tease. Carson stranded on a planet with an all female team? The only thing to top that is to put McKay on a world ala Ethan of Athos…then again, that might be too cruel even for him.Now, stranding Sheppard on such a planet… No mention of near-syncope episodes. Overeating is a GOOD thing. Just a quick question before I head to bed. Have you ever tried a chocolate wine?

Re the different coloured scripts, it might be thoughtful to provide the most “eye-friendly” pages as possible, as it is a large part of the actor’s job, reading the darned things. At least where I work, it’s almost a union issue, to have the work environment safe, and eye strain can be a real problem with some individuals.

You know, those multi-colored sheets can give you a headache. Of course my experience comes from having to take AP statistics tests on hot pink, green, blue, that odd salmon color and every other possible color paper. So it might not have been the paper that caused the headache.

Surely there were more interesting ingredients on that package, right?

What on earth are those three rather flat cylindrical thingies on the plate? I’m assuming something Mexican due to what looks like Sour cream, spring onions etc sprawled on the top…either that or they look like cabbage rolls.

Paul! You looking gooooooooood .. mwahs.

Joe, how you feeling? Got some of us a little worried about your sleeplessness ..

“Peanutia”..almost as bad as Canayo (was that it?) I suggest we blog-fans come up with something interesting.

thanks for the pics :) very cool to see David Nykl and Paul McGillion again. but your goodbye to Amanda is quite sad. wow has it really been eight years? I wish I could relieve them. if only… I see someone else already asked but I’m very curious too. is this really goodbye? a while ago you said there’s a chance to bring her back for 1/2 episode(s) in the back half. have things changed? thanks. btw dinner looks delicious

Hmmm…I like this, I like this a lot. Efficient, to the point, and no filler. Yup, I can definitely get used to this type of blog posts. Who needs the hilariously-entertaining-but-ultimately-irrelevant masterpieces on dogs and books and spam and demented garage doors, when bullet-style Stargate info is all we really want?

*is shot*

Heh, ok, seriously though, thank you so much for taking the time out, even after such a long and eventful day, to tell us about it. But wait, didn’t you promise Fondy to post pug pictures today? Oh, you’re gonna get it now!

I’ve been pretty busy the last few days due to midterms, so I didn’t have time to comment. However, I do like to say something about that near-pass-out you experienced yesterday. I have this problem where I get dizzy all the time, and I believe it has something to do with both a lack of sleep and a lack of nutrition. Obviously you don’t have the 2nd problem, but you are missing sleep, and as the guy co-in-charge of the Stargate franchise, I bid you to sleep more, for the good of us all. Believe me, you don’t want to feel the same way I do sometimes. It’s a chronic condition that one can fall into if one is not careful.

The dogs are cute, but I think it’s time to act like THE MAN. It’s your bed, and you need the sleep in order to function the day after so you can continue to deliver to us, the millions of fans who are counting on you, the Stargate goodness that has kept us alive these few years (and I’m in no way exaggerating). Come on Joe, take charge, don’t fall into the trap of Lulu’s great big sad eyes, and sleep like you mean it!

Questions:

1. Does the fact that Brad Wright is writing the 6th episode of S5 have anything to do with the fact that it’s the 300th episode of the Stargate franchise?

2. Is the mid-season 2-parter going to have 2 names (like Season 4), or just one name with “Part 1″ and “Part 2″ (like Season 3) at the end of them?

My 5th graders bitch about the colored copies too, I tell them that they are young and their organs can be easily sold on e-bay. Perhaps you can share with your “11 year olds” that they are old, their knees are weak and if they keep complaining you will release the hounds. After all, you have several to choose from.

and this show is on the bubble with FOX according to some. I know it is Network TV so it’s different than Cable but come on this show is awesome and needs time develop. Have you seen this show it rocks I love Sarah Connor and Cameron love seeing strong women.

On the Whispers front make Ronon the Hero in the Final Act or maybe Teyla or both. I know you will get it right.

Speaking of naming characters, is the name “Kanaan” any sort of allusion to the Biblical land of “Canaan” (or the American North and Canada since the name was often used by slaves in the American South in reference to the free land over the Ohio)? For Teyla to find Kanaan and her people is the equivalent of her reaching her inner promised land. Dude, you guys are deep.

Hey Joe!
Sorry to hear that you are having a tough time with Whispers. I’m sure it will come to you soon and it will be awesome! Thanks for the tid bit about Carson and the all female team. Is Cadman on that team? Will be a Carson/Cadman reunion?

Finally got to see Kindred P1, it was very enjoyable, loved the episode even though the last 30seconds were ruined by the promo. Can’t wait to see this weeks episode.

Guess what! I have a job interview on Friday. Wish me luck! I’m so nervous, any pointers? Any good ice breakers?

Hiya Joe!
Did Robert Cooper happen to reply back to your “Booooring” comment? Awww I didn’t realize Amanda’s last day was so soon. Well, I’d like to wish her the best of luck with Sanctuary. You’re already at 56 pages and you still have to write the final scene? That brings me to question how many pages was the longest script you’ve written for either Stargate shows? Hasn’t both Stargate shows used multicolored paper for production drafted scripts and it wasn’t a problem then? Ooohh stranded alone with Carson?! Can I volunteer for that mission, pretty please?! Unfortunately, I think Peanutia(Pen-noo-sha)sounds more like a girl’s name unless you had another way of pronouncing it. Oh poker! Has anyone been able to beat Lawren at all? You know you’re teasing us by just posting the picture food and not letting us know what you’ve eaten for both lunch and dinner. Ok, I swear this is my last question for the evening: You’ve mentioned that you won’t do a Creation Convention, but I don’t recall if you’ve ever said why. Could you please explain why? Thanks for you patience! By the way I’m slowly converting members of my family to be Stargate fans.

Hope you’re feeling better today! Thanks very much for the pics of David and Paul — they both are looking quite well! :) (I don’t suppose we could get some pics of Heyerdahl when he’s on the set again? Pretty please?)

And a belated birthday wishes to BamBam!

Re: Ryan Reynolds, I actualy haven’t gotten to see all of Blade 3, but yeah, from what I did see, he was the best thing about it. :) I guess I shouldn’t worry about him as Pool — it’s just that, since my first exposure to him was in 2 Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place, I still have a bit of a hard time seeing him as an action hero … I’m really disappointed that Josh Holloway isn’t doing Gambit anymore, though — I thought he was *perfect* (hell, Sawyer’s pretty much the same character), and he would have cinched my seeing the new Wolverine movie. As it stands, I’m still iffy on whether I’ll see it; while I loved the first two X-Men films (especially the second one), I pretty much despised the third …. Can’t decide on whether or not to see Iron Man — never cared much for the character, but the promos actually look interesting, and I like Robert Downey Jr …. Still haven’t scene Hulk (I haven’t really liked any of Ang Lee’s films, not even Brokeback or Crouching Tiger, and The Ice Storm was uncomfortable to watch), or Daredevil (kinda sick of Affleck, only liked him in Dogma, really), or Electra (not a fan of the character, and Garner doesn’t do it for me), and still haven’t been convinced to see either Fantastic Four film (never cared for the characters, and none of the actors are a draw for me) …

Joe, I hope you find your way with the last scene of “Whispers” soon. It’s always so frustrating getting that far and then being unsure of where to go, regardless of whether the “unsure” lasts a few hours or a few days. So good luck.

They say “brake a leg” to actors, so maybe “break a pen” would be an apt turn of phrase for what I’m saying?

I recommend against the name “Peanutia”, primarily because, when said aloud, it sounds like a descriptive name given to a poorly-endowed man, owing to the fact that it sounds like it’s derived from the words “penis” and “minutia”. But then, depending on the character, this may be a fitting name. Possibly an incredibly evil villain who has grown angry and bitter over the relentless teasing he was subjected to for his entire life. Which would, admittedly, be kind of hilarious.

On another note, I, too, have a question about the word “beat”. Pretty much every screenwriting book I’ve ever read that mentioned it said that one should never use “beat” to mean a pause (like in dialogue) because beats refer to units of movement, so to speak, in a story. And yet I noticed you used “beat” in the former way in one of those discarded script sections you shared with us. Is this “rule” pretty much irrelevant in the real world, or does it really confuse the actors like the book suggests?

Thornyrose said: “The only thing to top that is to put McKay on a world ala Ethan of Athos…then again, that might be too cruel even for him. Now, stranding Sheppard on such a planet…”

Or strand them both! For a long, long time…. Mm, sorry, where was I?

Done right, I bet it would make almost every McShep ‘shipper in the world explode with either glee or indignation. On the plus side: no more shipping wars! On the negative side: the audience viewing numbers might drop some.

Ah, Rage of Angels I’m looking forward to seeing that, as sometimes it pays to stick with the devil you know. Speaking of, I’d sure like to have back the hour and change I wasted watching a brand new Lifetime movie in which I felt I saw Shanks practice for said role. I can only hope that the worst faked Irish accent I’ve ever heard was done intentionally so. Yes he’s one of my fave actors along with Chris.

Thanks for the pictures, especially of Paul! Good to see he made it back from London relatively unscathed! ;) (I’d be wary of his mental stability though, you never know what effect we had on him while he was here. The same goes for Kavan Smith by the way…)

- Said goodbye to Amanda and told her it was a pleasure working with her these past eight years. “Don’t’ be a stranger,”I told her in a particularly emotional moment. “Come back and say hi.” Then was quick add: “But call first so we can clear your name with the guard at the front gate.”

Paul McGillion anywhere makes for a nice tease (cuz it involves Carson – and I’m not even one of the ones who raised hell at y’all killing him, I just sobbed quietly into a pillow). But it’s sad to hear Amanda’s gone already… :-(

My one big cover note: Change the guy’s name. Clearly frustrated, Carl informed me he was open to suggestions.
May I suggest y’all move into the lower half of the alphabet? The T’s could use some love. (And isn’t that what baby names and heraldic web sites are for? Coming up with character names? No? That’s just my writing group? Oh, okay then…)

Joe, it’s almost impossible to hide your excitement (and at times your frustrations) as Season 5 preparations and writing gets into full-swing. As you and the rest of the writers and producers jump headlong into this Season how do you feel about the state of the show and its future potential as a whole? (ratings have remained quite steady this season, and even though the ultimate decision belongs to the network, it doesnt seem like Sci-Fi is ready to give it up just yet – especially with it being parallel to the final season of Battlestar and being so much more awesome)

Joe, Please tell me you didn’t eat the goldfish David N. gifted you with! Also could I get Friday’s blog dedicated to me as I’m going into surgery that morning and hoping to be awake enough for Kindred II that night. I’ve only been waiting for this episode since “Sunday” aired last year. Wish me luck!

Hi Joe,
I started a blog recently here on wordpress, about tv series, movies, music, advertising, design, photography… stuff that i’m interested in and i’m following SG universe since 1997. See, I’m from Bulgaria and Atlantis and SG-1 have many fans here, I was wondering can I quote you sometimes on my blog, when you spill something interesting. I promise to translate everything 1:1, as it is and not misquote you as some online magazines have done recently :)
here’s my blog, but it’s in bulgaria, so there won’t be much use for you.

I am disappointed that you feel the complaint about the colour of the scripts is so silly. In fact, the colour of the background of a page can have a serious effect on the way your brain interprets the letters. That’s why some dyslexics find reading easier with coloured lenses over thier text in normal books. They have to do that because they can’t print the words on coloured paper.

I can only imagine that if you are not dyslexic or you are and your eyes work better with a different lens, having the wrong colour as a background day after day would indeed lead to discomfort and eyestrain.

If you’re having trouble with the final scene just dip into the classics:

* Someone wakes up and it was all a dream!
* Everyone spontaniously dies mid-sentance.
* A car smashes through the Stargate and a load of angry clowns fall out.

These scenarios work particularly well if it’s part one of a two-parter and some other poor sap has to write the following episode. Remember to laugh manically as you pass the script over to the writer.

You wrote: “Was relayed a query from certain individuals who requested their scripts only be printed on white pages because the multi-colored production drafts hurt their eyes to read. Seriously. Would they like Lawren our office assistant to chew their food for them too?”

I just wanted to mention that I have to request the same of all my instructors when they give exams. Why? because for some people colored paper gives instant migraines. Seriously. It’s not pretty, it’s not fun, but it is a fact of life. It very well could be hurting her eyes and causing her more problems then you realize.

Okay now that I’ve got that off my chest, good luck on your script! I’m sure the right ending will come to you eventually.

Regarding colored paper, try pastel colors, we have to use them where I teach because they are easier to read in general and people with specific problems like dislexia find black on white very hard to read. A secondary (if very small) benefit is that speed of reading improves slightly when using black letters on blue paper.
Any plans to have Teal’c in s5?
The description of your good bye to Amanda seemed so final, what are the chances of seeing her in any more episodes besides the ones she already filmed?

*straightens up in chair after reading maggiemayday’s comment* I guess we all need our mother-reminders from time to time.

Vecturist, if Joe won’t swap with you maybe you’d consider trading writing assignments with me – I’m trying to pull together a doctoral thesis proposal in hydrographic science… Then again, you may not want to have your academic future depend upon my knowledge of genetics. :-)

Anyways, Joe, what I really wanted to say was thanks for continuing to entertain us with your blog every day. Yesterday I had fits of silent giggles over your lisping wraith.

Hi Joe.
I watched “Misbegotten” (season 3, episode 2) earlier today. But I have watched “Kindred Part 1″ as well (couldn’t help watching it in advance!!!)
I took notice that- in “Misbegotten”- Michael had Carson captured, & mentioned that Carson is (& I quote from the episode) “exactly what [he needs]”.
[He also says after Shep & team get Carson back, to othere Wraiths “He’s served his purpose”.]
Now, with “Kindred Part 1″, Carson- I know he ‘dies’ in “Sunday”- appears at the very end, much to the team’s surprise.
I was wondering if what Michael wanted from Carson in “Misbegotten” has any link to Carson’s re-appearance in “Kindred 1″??? (or am I completely reading into this wrongly, & it’s nothing???)

Hi Joe… loved the lisping Wraith!!!!..would be hilarious in a McKay dream sequence; just a thought..lol.. Do you have a name yet for Teyla’s baby?..BTW…my neighbot just named her puppy, Teyla..she thought the name was unique…my friend has a Mastiff puppy ; Im trying to push for Ronin…****Theresa from Baltimore****

Amy Taylor Said: “Please tell me that is a pair of sunglasses in Chris’s hair and not what it looks like…”

I think it’s a very manly hair band. Who is right?

How about the name, “Kenan”? But since I know you won’t accept a name suggestion from your readers, just pretend you never saw the suggestion and that the name came to you in a vision… I’ll be fine with that.

In the 2-part episode of Stargate SG-1 called “The Devil You Know”, The Tok’ra home world/base had rock formations that looked exactly like Hoodoos from Drumheller in Alberta. Can you tell me the history of the image?

you and amanda mentioned about doing ‘several’ episodes in s5, is that still the idea? of course, that’s only if amanda’s schedule is open after filming sanctuary. but will you still keep the door open for sam/amanda?

We aren’t allowed to use anything but black ink at work (I have one red pen, but I never use it), and I’m pretty sure colored paper doesn’t exist anywhere in the building. My uniform is black, my boots are black, my cellphone is black, the cars are black and white…I vote for colored scripts! Color please!

Oh yeah, the tickets come in different colors (I keep the pink copy, you get the goldenrod copy, the court gets…I don’t remember, whatever colors are left), but I only write about one a month (using a black pen), so that doesn’t really help the monochromatic atmosphere.

As someone mentioned the different colors are for production drafts. (Though using pastels might be helpful.) You can tell at a glance if you have the most current.

If it’s such an issue for some people perhaps they need to copy it onto the color of their choice. Yes, it eats through paper but the paper is a different color for a valid reason. They don’t like it, they can change it themselves.

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